Hydroformylation of 1-Hexene over Rh/Nano-Oxide Catalysts

The effect of nanostructured supports on the activity of Rh catalysts was studied by comparing the catalytic performance of nano- and bulk-oxide supported Rh/ZnO, Rh/SiO₂ and Rh/TiO₂ systems in 1-hexene hydroformylation. The highest activity with 100% total conversion and 96% yield of aldehydes was obtained with the Rh/nano-ZnO catalyst. The Rh/nano-ZnO catalyst was found to be more stable and active than the corresponding rhodium catalyst supported on bulk ZnO. The favorable morphology of Rh/nano-ZnO particles led to an increased metal content and an increased number of weak acid sites compared to the bulk ZnO supported catalysts. Both these factors favored the improved catalytic performance. Improvements of catalytic properties were obtained also with the nano-SiO₂ and nano-TiO₂ supports in comparison with the bulk supports. All of the catalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), BET, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and NH3- temperature-programmed desorption (TPD).